Hydrocarbon wells including crosslinked polymer granules in sand control structures and methods of completing the hydrocarbon wells

Abstract

Hydrocarbon wells including crosslinked polymer granules in sand control structures and/or methods of completing the hydrocarbon wells. The hydrocarbon wells include a wellbore that extends within a subsurface region and a downhole tubular that extends within the wellbore, defines a tubular conduit, and includes a fluid-permeable segment. The hydrocarbon wells also include a sand control structure that is positioned within an annular space that extends between the wellbore and the fluid-permeable segment of the downhole tubular. The sand control structure is configured to restrict migration of formation sands from the subsurface region and into the tubular conduit via the fluid-permeable segment and includes a plurality of crosslinked polymer granules. The methods include positioning a downhole tubular within a wellbore and providing a plurality of crosslinked polymer granules to an annular space that extends between the wellbore and a fluid-permeable segment of the downhole tubular.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. A hydrocarbon well, comprising:
 a wellbore that that extends within a subsurface region; 
 a downhole tubular that defines a tubular conduit and extends within the wellbore, wherein the downhole tubular includes a fluid-permeable segment; and 
 a sand control structure positioned within an annular space that extends between the wellbore and the fluid-permeable segment, wherein the sand control structure is configured to restrict migration of formation sands from the subsurface region into the tubular conduit via the fluid-permeable segment, wherein the sand control structure includes a plurality of crosslinked polymer granules, wherein a characteristic dimension of each crosslinked polymer granule of the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules is at least 250 micrometers and at most 2 millimeters, and further wherein each crosslinked polymer granule contains a highly crosslinked polymeric material that includes: 
 (i) a plurality of polyethylene polymer chains; and 
 (ii) a plurality of chemical crosslinks, wherein the plurality of chemical crosslinks includes chemical crosslinks that covalently bond a given polyethylene polymer chain of the plurality of polyethylene polymer chains to another polyethylene polymer chain of the plurality of polyethylene polymer chains. 
 
     
     
       2. The hydrocarbon well of  claim 1 , wherein at least one of:
 (i) the hydrocarbon well includes an open-hole completion section, and further wherein the fluid-permeable segment of the downhole tubular at least partially defines the open-hole completion section; 
 (ii) the wellbore includes a horizontal portion, and further wherein the fluid-permeable segment of the downhole tubular is positioned within the horizontal portion of the wellbore; and 
 (iii) the subsurface region includes an unconsolidated sand formation that at least partially defines the wellbore, and further wherein the sand control structure is positioned within the unconsolidated sand formation. 
 
     
     
       3. The hydrocarbon well of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid-permeable segment defines a downhole end region of the downhole tubular. 
     
     
       4. The hydrocarbon well of  claim 1 , wherein the fluid-permeable segment includes at least one of:
 (i) a screen structure; and 
 (ii) a plurality of apertures that permits fluid flow into the tubular conduit. 
 
     
     
       5. The hydrocarbon well of  claim 1 , wherein the downhole tubular further includes a fluid-impermeable segment, wherein the fluid-impermeable segment defines an uphole end region of the downhole tubular. 
     
     
       6. The hydrocarbon well of  claim 1 , wherein the subsurface region defines a median formation grain diameter, and further wherein the characteristic dimension of each crosslinked polymer granule is at least one of:
 (i) at least 3 times larger than the median formation grain diameter; and 
 (ii) at most 8 times larger than the median formation grain diameter. 
 
     
     
       7. The hydrocarbon well of  claim 1 , wherein a granule density of the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules is at least 0.9 grams per cubic centimeter. 
     
     
       8. The hydrocarbon well of  claim 1 , wherein a granule density of the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules is at most 2 grams per cubic centimeter. 
     
     
       9. A method of completing a hydrocarbon well, the method comprising:
 positioning a downhole tubular within a wellbore of the hydrocarbon well, wherein the wellbore extends within a subsurface region, and further wherein the downhole tubular defines a tubular conduit and includes a fluid-permeable segment; and 
 providing a plurality of crosslinked polymer granules to an annular space that extends between the wellbore and the fluid-permeable segment to form a sand control structure that is configured to restrict migration of formation sands from the subsurface region and into the tubular conduit via the fluid-permeable segment, wherein a characteristic dimension of each crosslinked polymer granule of the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules is at least 250 micrometers and at most 2 millimeters, and further wherein each crosslinked polymer granule contains a highly crosslinked polymeric material that includes: 
 (i) a plurality of polyethylene polymer chains; and 
 (ii) a plurality of chemical crosslinks, wherein the plurality of chemical crosslinks includes chemical crosslinks that covalently bond a given polyethylene polymer chain of the plurality of polyethylene polymer chains to another polyethylene polymer chain of the plurality of polyethylene polymer chains. 
 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 9 , wherein at least one of:
 (i) the positioning includes positioning the fluid-permeable segment within a horizontal portion of the wellbore; 
 (ii) the positioning includes positioning the fluid-permeable segment within an open-hole portion of the wellbore; and 
 (iii) the subsurface region includes an unconsolidated sand formation that at least partially defines the wellbore, and further wherein the positioning includes positioning the fluid-permeable segment within the unconsolidated sand formation. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 9 , wherein the providing includes providing a slurry, which includes the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules and a carrier fluid, to the annular space. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the providing includes depositing the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules within the annular space. 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 11 , wherein a granule density of the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules is at least 80% and at most 120% of a carrier fluid density of the carrier fluid. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules is at least substantially neutrally buoyant within the carrier fluid. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules is positively buoyant within the carrier fluid. 
     
     
       16. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules is negatively buoyant within the carrier fluid. 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 11 , wherein a positively buoyant fraction of the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules is positively buoyant within the carrier fluid, and further wherein a negatively buoyant fraction of the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules is negatively buoyant within the carrier fluid. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 11 , wherein the providing the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules includes providing a first slurry to the annular space and subsequently providing a second slurry to the annular space, wherein:
 (i) the providing the first slurry includes forming a first portion of the sand control structure that is proximate a toe region of the wellbore; and 
 (ii) the providing the second slurry includes forming a second portion of the sand control structure that extends from the first portion of the sand control structure and a heel region of the wellbore. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 18 , wherein at least one of:
 (i) the first slurry differs from the second slurry; 
 (ii) a first slurry density of the first slurry is greater than a second slurry density of the second slurry; 
 (iii) a first granule density of a first granule subset of the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules provided in the first slurry is greater than a second granule density of a second granule subset of the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules provided in the second slurry; 
 (iv) the first granule subset is negatively buoyant within a first corresponding carrier fluid; and 
 (v) the second granule subset is positively buoyant within a second corresponding carrier fluid. 
 
     
     
       20. The method of  claim 11 , wherein a first granule subset of the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules defines a first average granule density, wherein a second granule subset of the plurality of crosslinked polymer granules defines a second average granule density that is less than the first average granule density, and further wherein the providing includes providing such that the first granule subset is preferentially distributed within a toe region of the wellbore and the second granule subset is preferentially distributed between the toe region of the wellbore and a heel region of the wellbore. 
     
     
       21. The method of  claim 20 , wherein at least one of:
 (i) the first average granule density is greater than a carrier fluid density of the carrier fluid; and 
 (ii) the second average granule density is less than the carrier fluid density of the carrier fluid.